Method of washing and cleaning engine cylinders



April 18, 1950 METHOD OF WASHING AND CLEANING ENGINE CYLINDERS Original Filed Dec. 10, 1945 A. F. CASSIN 2,504,301

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.2.

A.-'--! INVENTOR.

ANTHONY F.'CASSIN ATTORNEYS A. F. CASSINI April 18, 1950 METHOD OF WASHING AND CLEANING ENGINE CYLINDERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Dec. 10, 1945 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS ANTHONY F. GASSIN April 18, 1950 A. F. CASSIN METHOD OF WASHING AND CLEANING ENGINE CYLINDERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Dec. 10, 1945 Fig.4.

JNVENTOR. ANTHONY F. CASSIN ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 18, 1950 METHOD OF WASHING A'ND: CLEANING ENGINE CYLINDERS- "AnthonyF.Gassin, Detroit, Michi, ass-ignor to Auto Cit P ratione of Mithigan lating 00., Detroit, Mich.,- a corpo- (Driginahaplilicationlnecemher.10,.1945,"Serial N11,, 4633,92,! nowLTatent No. 2,420,463, dated. May 13; I947; z'Diyid'd'and this application October I4,1946, Serial"No. 703,242

f1, Glaimr Thelinvention relates to the' cleaningofengine cylinders to remove therefrom all-*di'rt and grit which would be detrimental to the operation of the engine. The instant-application is adivisiorr of application Serial No; 633;9-24; filed December 1 0,1 i945, :whichissued May 13, 1947, as PatentrNo2A20A63l L'Inithe present state of the 'art, engine cylindersihave been provided with a'chromium plated inner"v surface both for" the purpose of aifordinga "hard '-weari'ng surf'ace aridfial'so to recondition the'cylindersr which:are tool largein bore. It has been found, however, -that' a -continuous chromium surface-is" not idesirable as' it lacks lubricant retaining-properties. 'It has,- therefore, been'the practice to remove a portion of the chromium by'exposing'i't as an anode in an electrolytic bath. This 'resul-tsin pitting-oriinterrupting the continuity *ofthesurface forming therein microscopic channels orso -c'alled -"spider.

web extending overthearea. The subsequent honing operation and-finishing the inner surface of the cylinder causes the deposits-ot s-mall abrasiveparticles inthese channels, which if not removed Would produce rapid wear when the'engine:

is in operation. Another efiect of the "deplating orof' the honingis to form jagged'feather edges along the channels which tend to" retain anyabrasive particles lodged therein.

It is the object of the invention to completely remove all of the abrasive deposits in all portions of the area of the cylinder surface-,"and to this end the invention consists first, in a method of blasting successively all portions of the cylinder surface; second, in the-dislodging of a small amount of fine abrasive particles which v assist in dislodging previous deposits in the channels or interstices. Thus, the jagged feather edges will to some extent be cut away so that the deposits in the channels are not retained thereby.

2 To insure that all, portions of the inrier sur. facewill be subjected to the blast, the blast: 'noz-. zle; extends centrally within the cylinder and relative axial reciprocatory and simultaneous relative rotary movements: are imparted to said, nozzle'andwcylinder. This is preferably accomplishedby apparatusof the following construction.

,i'Atisa: frame. B is av casin within said frame forming' a wash chamber-and Cris-a revoluble table-within the; chamber-B for supporting: the. work. Thetable. C'i-s mounted'ion a vertical shaft D passing downward through a .h0llow post E- rising from; the; bottom ofthe casing; Arhub C" connects the table to. the shaftand -acylin.- drical skirt C2 depending from'the hub. surrounds: th-EMPPEK portiorrxof the post and is revolublll' supported thereon by antifriction bearings D".. Beneathithe bottomB of' the casing apulley- F is secured to the shaft D which is connected by; a. belt *F with a small diameter pulleyF on: the shaftofza motor G. The latter-is-mounted on aspanel G at one side ofthe frame-A. i Gem trally mounted; on the top: B of the casing Bis a tubular extension H which forms. a/housing en closing a' hollow: cylindrical plunger I. The'latter passesvthlsoughan aperture in the top 'B -and carries at its lower end a blast head I. This iscchambered: to receive a radiallyqdirectediair nozzle J which is connectedtoan air conduit J'- @extending to the upper end of the hollow:- plunger I and connected with a laterally-extendingmort J in theupper head I thereof A liquid conduit K alsoextends from the head I downward through the hollow plunger I and b-lasthead I'm-to. direct a; liquid stream in front of the air nozzle J. Air and. liquid: are supplied, to th eondui-ts. :J' and Kith-rough flexible conduits J and K *which pass through vertical slots--H, 1-1 in the housingl-lrso as" to permit of vertical movemerit of the plunger IE therein. Above the housanair cylinder L containinga piston L" connected by a piston rod L with a head I oia-the-plungerrI. Thus, by supplyingair alter-- nately to the upper and lower ends of the.:cylm-- der L, the piston therein will be reciprocated communicating a corresponding movement to the plunger I and the blast head I at the lower end thereof. Consequently, a cylinder placed on the revoluble table C will have its inner surface subjected to the radially directed blast and the revolution of the cylinder together with the vertical reciprocation of the plunger will move the blast over all portions of said surface.

To adapt the device for washing cylinders of various sizes, the dimensions of the casing B and the maximum stroke of the plunger I are suitable for the largest cylinder. It is, however, desirable to limit the stroke of the plunger to correspond to the actual length of the cylinder being washed, which is accomplished by an air valve and controlling means therefor. shown in Fig. 1, the air valve M is operated by electric switches M and M vertically adjustably mounted on the housing H. Preferably the housing H has a pair of angle bars N welded or other wise secured to one side thereof and rails N and N are mounted on these angle bars to extend parallel to each other in a vertical direction.

Heads N are adjustably mounted on the rails N and N and are held in different positions of adjustment by set screws N These heads N support the switches M and M which are arranged in pairs on corresponding pairs of heads. or finger N secured to the plunger I extends radially outward through a vertical slot H in the housing H which is between the angle bars N. This pin during the movement of the plunger I will contact the operating members M of the switches M and M and through suitable electrical connections (not shown) will operate the valve M. The arrangement is such that when the upper switch members M are operated by the pin or finger N the valve M will be shifted to supply air to the upper end of the cylinder L, while the lower end of said cylinder is connected to the exhaust. On the other hand, when the finger N operates the lower switches M the valve will be reversed to supply air to the lower end of the cylinder L and to connect the upper end of said cylinder to the exhaust. It is, therefore, apparent that by shifting the heads N on the rails N and N the switches M and M may be positioned to give any desired length of stroke to the piston L within the cylinder L. For convenience in introducing the work into the casing B and onto the revoluble table C and also for removing the work therefrom, a shelf 0 is mounted outside of the casing at the level of the table. The casing is also provided with a sliding'door P on the side adjacent to the shelf 0 so that by raising this door a cylinder placed on the shelf may be transferred therefrom to the table C. Exchangeable adapters Q are secured to the table each forming centering device for a cylinder of given size thereby holding said cylinder with its axis coincident with that of the table.

The liquid ingredient of the blast is placed in a tank or container R preferably arranged in rear of the casing B. For this ingredient various materials may be ued such, for instance, as an alkaline water solution, but a certain amount of fine abrasive material is carried by this solution into the blast. The liquid is raised from the tank and delivered to the jet by the ejector action of the air jet nozzle J blowing across the lower end of the conduit K. A conduit K extends upward from the lower portion of the tank R and connects with. the flexible conduit or hose K which latter connects with the upper end of conduit K. Air is As diagrammatically 4 supplied to the valve M and also to the flexible conduit or hose J from any suitable source and through conduits S and S controlled by electromagnetic valves S and S The latter are operated by control switches T and these and other control switches as, for instance, one for the operation of the motor G, are mounted on a panel T at the front of the casing and below the shelf 0.

Apin- Operation The cylinder to be washed is first placed on the shelf 0 after which the sliding door P is raised and the'cylinder transfers from the shelf to the adapter Q on the table C. During this operation the plunger I is in its raised position so as to clear the cylinder. .The door P is then closed and the machine is set in operation. This imparts rotary movement to the table C from the motor G through the pulleys F F, belt F and shaft D. Also, air is supplied through the conduits S and S to the valve Mand conduit J. Assuming that the switches M, M have been adjusted to control the length of stroke of the plunger the blast nozzle will be moved first downward and then upward during the continuous rotation of'the cylinder. This operation is continued for a suflicient period of time to insure the removal of all material lodged in the crevices or interstices and such removal is expedited by the action of the abrasive in the blast which cuts away the jagged feather edges. The operating machine may then be stopped, the door opened, and the clean cylinder removed from the table to the shelf 0.

What I claim as my invention is:

In a method of cleansing honed engine cylinders having chromium plated and partially depleted inner surfaces which have fine interstices due to the deplating and containing deposits due to honing held by feather edges also due to honing; the steps of successively blasting all portions of said inner surfaces with a blast of air cleansing liquid and a small quantity of fine abrasive particles in suspension therein, the quantity of abrasive par:- ticles and the time of surface exposure to the blast being limited to that required to cut said feather edges and to remove all deposits from said interstices without detrimental abrasion of said inner surface.

ANTHONY F. CASSIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: I

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,35 ,557 Boyd et al. Sept. 19,1944 

